De principiis

 To one who has received instruction and has practiced the ticklings and irritations occur, but reason, having been greatly strengthened and nourished

 He speaks to us as having free will and being the cause of our own destruction or salvation for he says, or do you despise the riches of his goodnes

 Since it was possible for him to be persuaded, and he certainly would have been persuaded, not being of an earthly nature, when constrained by the won

 In the underlying matter, from the one heat the wax is melted, but the clay is dried so the one energy working through moses on the one hand exposed

 In proportion to the unspeakable beneficence, to the greatest possible degree of blessedness they have attained. 3.1.13 therefore, he who is abandoned

 Stony hearts” and places in them “fleshy ones,” so that “his ordinances may be kept” and the commandments observed, it is not in our power to put away

 From the old [testament], being accused of such things. but if they seek a defense concerning the gospel, it must be said to them, unless they act rep

 Such things, by which having been seen and heard, the sin of those who after such great and numerous things have not believed is proven to be heavier

 Therefore, that which is from god is manifoldly and exceedingly more for salvation than that which is in our power. therefore, i think the saying mean

 Of the body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad” is it sound, when those who have done evil things have come to this course of a

 To advance to better things, while others fall from better things to worse, and some are preserved in good things or ascend from good things to better

 Nor when the teachers were many, to be preached everywhere in the world, so that greeks and barbarians, wise and foolish were added to the worship

 “grace is poured out on his lips”? for a proof of the “grace poured out on his lips” is that after a short time of his teaching (for he taught for abo

 In the sun and moon and stars and is not so manifest in the events of human life, as in the souls and the bodies of animals, since the “for what purp

 They thought, since the creator was imperfect and not good, that the savior had come announcing a more perfect god, whom they say is not the creator,

 You did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” 4.2.4 the way, therefore, that appears to us for how one ought to approach the scripture

 Character. but a spiritual interpretation for the one who is able to show of what “heavenly things the pattern and shadow” the jews “according to the

 Is so great upon the earth, and if not only upon the earth, but also elsewhere, it is necessary for us to learn. 4.2.8 these things, and others like t

 Like a farmer, that god 'planted a paradise in eden toward the east,' and made in it a 'tree of life,' visible and perceptible, so that by tasting of

 But also the saying “to be struck on the right jaw” is most improbable, since everyone who strikes, unless he happens to have some unnatural condition

 Every part has the spiritual, but not every part the corporeal for in many places the corporeal is shown to be impossible. therefore, much attention

 Of us.” and in another epistle: “but you have come to mount zion and to the city of the living god, the heavenly jerusalem, and to myriads of angels,

 Of israel or of those being far off, and the “descent into egypt of the seventy souls”, that there they might become “as the stars of heaven in number

But also the saying “to be struck on the right jaw” is most improbable, since everyone who strikes, unless he happens to have some unnatural condition, strikes the left jaw with his right hand. But it is impossible to take from the gospel "a right eye causing to stumble"; for if we grant that someone is able to "be caused to stumble" by seeing, how, when both eyes see, must the cause be attributed to the right one? And who, having condemned himself for having "looked at a woman to lust for her," attributing the cause only to the "right eye," would reasonably "cast it out"? But also the apostle legislates, saying: "Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised." First, whoever wishes will see that he says these things beside his proposed discourse; for how, while legislating about marriage and chastity, will he not seem to have inserted these things randomly? And second, who will say that he does wrong, if it is possible, who on account of the indecency believed by many to be in circumcision, gives himself over to becoming uncircumcised? 4.3.4 But all these things have been said by us in order to show that the purpose of the divine power which bestows the sacred scriptures upon us is not to take only the things presented by the letter, since sometimes these things, as far as the literal sense is concerned, happen to be not true but also irrational and impossible, and that certain things are interwoven with the history that occurred and with the legislation that is useful in its literal sense. But lest anyone suppose we say this about everything, that no history occurred, because some did not occur, and no legislation is to be observed literally, because some is literally irrational or impossible, or that the things written about the Savior are not true in the perceptible sense, or that none of his legislation and commandment is to be kept; it must be said that it is clearly evident to us concerning some things that the history is true, as that Abraham was buried in the double cave in Hebron and Isaac and Jacob and one wife of each of these, and that Shechem was given as a portion to Joseph, and Jerusalem is the metropolis of Judea, in which a temple of God was built by Solomon, and countless other things. For far more numerous are the things that are historically true than the purely spiritual things interwoven with them. Then again, who would not say that the commandment which says: “Honor your father and mother, that it may be well with you,” is useful and is indeed to be observed without any higher interpretation, and since the Apostle Paul used it word for word? And what need is there to speak about: "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness"? And again in the gospel there are commandments written that are not questioned, whether they are to be observed literally or not, such as the one saying: “But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother” and what follows, and: “But I say to you, do not swear at all.” And in the apostle the literal sense is to be observed: "warn the unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all," even if among the more ambitious it is possible for each of them to preserve, without setting aside the literal commandment, "the depths of the wisdom of God." 4.3.5 The careful person, however, will be drawn in different directions concerning some things, being unable to declare without much investigation whether this supposed history occurred literally or not, and whether the literal sense of this legislation is to be observed or not. For this reason the one who reads must carefully, keeping the Savior's command that says, “Search the scriptures,” diligently investigate where the literal sense is true and where it is impossible, and with as much power as possible track down from similar expressions the meaning of scripture scattered everywhere concerning that which is literally impossible. Since, therefore, as will be clear to those who read, the connection is impossible with respect to the literal sense, but the principal one is not impossible but also true, one must strive to grasp the whole meaning, connecting intellectually the account of the things literally impossible with the things that are not only not impossible but also historically true, which are allegorized along with the things that did not happen literally. For we are disposed concerning all of divine scripture, that

ἀλλὰ καὶ «δεξιὰ σιαγὼν τύπτεσθαι» λεγομένη ἀπιθανωτάτη ἐστί, παντὸς τοῦ τύπτοντος, εἰ μὴ ἄρα πεπονθώς τι παρὰ φύσιν τυγχάνει, τῇ δεξιᾷ χειρὶ τύπτοντος τὴν ἀριστερὰν σιαγόνα. ἀδύνατον δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἐστὶ λαβεῖν «ὀφθαλμὸν δεξιὸν σκανδαλίζοντα»· ἵνα γὰρ χαρισώμεθα τὸ δύνασθαι ἐκ τοῦ ὁρᾶν «σκανδαλίζεσθαί» τινα, πῶς τῶν δύο ὀφθαλμῶν ὁρώντων τὴν αἰτίαν ἀνενεκτέον ἐπὶ τὸν δεξιόν; τίς δὲ καὶ καταγνοὺς ἑαυτοῦ ἐν τῷ ἑωρακέναι «γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι», ἀναφέρων τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπὶ μόνον τὸν «δεξιὸν ὀφθαλμόν», εὐλόγως ἂν τοῦτον «ἀποβάλοι»; ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος νομοθετεῖ λέγων· «περιτετμημένος τις ἐκλήθη; μὴ ἐπισπάσθω». πρῶτον μὲν ὁ βουλόμενος ὄψεται ὅτι παρὰ τὴν προκειμένην αὐτῷ ὁμιλίαν ταῦτά φησι· πῶς γὰρ περὶ γάμου καὶ ἁγνείας νομοθετῶν οὐ δόξει ταῦτα εἰκῆ παρεμβεβληκέναι; δεύτερον δὲ τίς ἐρεῖ ἀδικεῖν τόν, εἰ δυνατόν, διὰ τὴν παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς νομιζομένην ἀσχημοσύνην ἐπὶ τῷ περιτετμῆσθαι, ἐπιδιδόντα ἑαυτὸν τῷ ἐπισπάσασθαι; 4.3.4 Ταῦτα δὲ ἡμῖν πάντα εἴρηται ὑπὲρ τοῦ δεῖξαι ὅτι σκοπὸς τῇ δωρουμένῃ ἡμῖν θείᾳ δυνάμει τὰς ἱερὰς γραφάς ἐστιν οὐχὶ τὰ ὑπὸ τῆς λέξεως παριστάμενα μόνα ἐκλαμβάνειν, ἐνίοτε τούτων ὅσον ἐπὶ τῷ ῥητῷ οὐκ ἀληθῶν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀλόγων καὶ ἀδυνάτων τυγχανόντων, καὶ ὅτι προσύφανταί τινα τῇ γενομένῃ ἱστορίᾳ καὶ τῇ κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν χρησίμῳ νομοθεσίᾳ. ἵνα δὲ μὴ ὑπολάβῃ τις ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ πάντων τοῦτο λέγειν, ὅτι οὐδεμία ἱστορία γέγονεν, ἐπεί τις οὐ γέγονε, καὶ οὐδεμία νομοθεσία κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν τηρητέα ἐστίν, ἐπεί τις κατὰ τὴν λέξιν ἄλογος τυγχάνει ἢ ἀδύνατος, ἢ ὅτι τὰ περὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος γεγραμμένα κατὰ τὸ αἰσθητὸν οὐκ ἀληθεύεται, ἢ ὅτι οὐδεμίαν νομοθεσίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐντολὴν φυλακτέον· λεκτέον ὅτι σαφῶς ἡμῖν παρίσταται περί τινων τὸ τῆς ἱστορίας εἶναι ἀληθές, ὡς ὅτι Ἀβραὰμ ἐν τῷ διπλῷ σπηλαίῳ ἐτάφη ἐν Χεβρὼν καὶ Ἰσαὰκ καὶ Ἰακὼβ καὶ ἑκάστου τούτων μία γυνή, καὶ ὅτι Σίκιμα μερὶς δέδοται τῷ Ἰωσήφ, καὶ Ἰερουσαλὴμ μητρόπολίς ἐστι τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ἐν ᾗ ᾠκοδόμητο ὑπὸ Σολομῶντος ναὸς θεοῦ, καὶ ἄλλα μυρία. πολλῷ γὰρ πλείονά ἐστι τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν ἀληθευόμενα τῶν προσυφανθέντων γυμνῶν πνευματικῶν. πάλιν τε αὖ τίς οὐκ ἂν εἴποι τὴν λέγουσαν ἐντολήν· «τίμα τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα, ἵνα εὖ γένηταί σοι», χωρὶς πάσης ἀναγωγῆς χρησίμην τυγχάνειν καὶ τηρητέαν γε, καὶ τοῦ ἀποστόλου Παύλου χρησαμένου αὐτῇ αὐτολεξεί; τί δὲ δεῖ λέγειν περὶ τοῦ· «οὐ φονεύσεις, οὐ μοιχεύσεις, οὐ κλέψεις, οὐ ψευδομαρτυρήσεις»; καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ἐντολαί εἰσι γεγραμμέναι οὐ ζητούμεναι, πότερον αὐτὰς κατὰ τὴν λέξιν τηρητέον ἢ οὔ, ὡς ἡ φάσκουσα· «ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, ὃς ἐὰν ὀργισθῇ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ» καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, καί· «ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν μὴ ὀμόσαι ὅλως». καὶ παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ τὸ ῥητὸν τηρητέον· «νουθετεῖτε τοὺς ἀτάκτους, παραμυθεῖσθε τοὺς ὀλιγοψύχους, ἀντέχεσθε τῶν ἀσθενῶν, μακροθυμεῖτε πρὸς πάντας», εἰ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς φιλοτιμοτέροις δύναται σώζειν ἕκαστον αὐτῶν, μετὰ τοῦ μὴ ἀθετεῖσθαι τὴν κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν ἐντολήν, «βάθη σοφίας θεοῦ». 4.3.5 Ὁ μέντοι γε ἀκριβὴς ἐπί τινων περιελκυσθήσεται, χωρὶς πολλῆς βασάνου μὴ δυνάμενος ἀποφήνασθαι, πότερον ἥδε ἡ νομιζομένη ἱστορία γέγονε κατὰ τὴν λέξιν ἢ οὔ, καὶ τῆσδε τῆς νομοθεσίας τὸ ῥητὸν τηρητέον ἢ οὔ. διὰ τοῦτο δεῖ ἀκριβῶς τὸν ἐντυγχάνοντα τηροῦντα τὸ τοῦ σωτῆρος πρόσταγμα τὸ λέγον· «ἐρευνᾶτε τὰς γραφάς» ἐπιμελῶς βασανίζειν, πῇ τὸ κατὰ τὴν λέξιν ἀληθές ἐστι καὶ πῇ ἀδύνατον, καὶ ὅση δύναμις ἐξιχνεύειν ἀπὸ τῶν ὁμοίων φωνῶν τὸν πανταχοῦ διεσπαρμένον τῆς γραφῆς νοῦν τοῦ κατὰ τὴν λέξιν ἀδυνάτου. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν, ὡς σαφὲς ἔσται τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσιν, ἀδύνατος μὲν ὁ ὡς πρὸς τὸ ῥητὸν εἱρμός, οὐκ ἀδύνατος δὲ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀληθὴς ὁ προηγούμενος, ὅλον τὸν νοῦν φιλοτιμητέον καταλαμβάνειν, συνείροντα τὸν περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν λέξιν ἀδυνάτων λόγον νοητῶς τοῖς οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀδυνάτοις ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀληθέσι κατὰ τὴν ἱστορίαν, συναλληγορουμένοις τοῖς ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ λέξει μὴ γεγενημένοις. διακείμεθα γὰρ ἡμεῖς περὶ πάσης τῆς θείας γραφῆς, ὅτι